Nashua manager Nick Guarino talks with his subued players after they were swept by Vermont Wednesday night at Historic Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The good news is the Nashua Silver Knights have today off.

The bad news is they have today off.

That’s because they can’t get right back out there and instead have a day to stew over the worst inning and worst day of the season Wednesday, a 4-0, 10-2 doubleheader loss at the hands of the Vermont Lake Monsters.

This one stung, capped by Nashua losing a 2-0 lead in the nightcap and giving up eight runs in the top of the sixth. It left players and the Historic Holman Stadium announced crowd of 764 in a fowl mood, so much so the Knights bullpen almost didn’t come in to do the “Love is Gone” dance in the middle of the sixth.

It was that kind of night.

“I told them we put ourselves in that spot,” Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino said. “Shake it, off day tomorrow, back at it Friday.”

The Silver Knights looked like they would bounce back from a 4-0 loss in Game 1 in which they managed just four hits and looked fairly blah.

In Game 2, however, they grabbed a 2-0 lead against the FCBL’s best team (26-10) with four straight hits in the bottom of the fourth. Starter Malcolm Klingler had held the Lake Monsters to one hit over 4.1 innings with six strikeouts. It was a fabulous start that was wasted after reliever Ryan Maiorano grooved a 1-1 offering to Vermont’s No. 9 hitter, Travis Stroh, who sent it over the billboards in left with a man on to tie the game at 2.

Then, in the top of the sixth, Silver Knights center fielder lost the ball in the twilight sky to give Vermont’s Hunter Strohm a leadoff double and that paved the way for eight runs on six hits, two walks and some shoddy defense. If that doesn’t end up as Nashua’s worst inning of the season, the Knights (17-18) are in trouble.

Malcolm Klingler delivers a pitch during the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. Vermont at Historic Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Ironically, Guarino had asked Williams before the inning started to help out his fellow outfielders to see the ball. Little did he know Williams have that problem – with zero help from his middle infield, etc.

“It’s twilight baseball, they’ve got to be better helping him,” Guarino said. “I tell him thinking he’s the guy to know to tell the guys, and the ball finds him, and no one helps him. That’s the way things worked.”

The other issue: Nashua’s bullpen has been up and down, as it just seems Guarino rolls the dice when he goes to it. Maiorano was replaced by Declan Wilkes who issued two straight walks to force in a run and then gave up back-to-back two-run singles to Vermont’s Brad Johnston and Zach Geertsma to break things open at 7-2.

“It’s hard, we’re trying to piece it together and see what we have,” Guarino said. “Some guys are doing well, some guys aren’t, it’s inconsistent right now. … I don’t really know what it looks like day-to-day.”

The highlight of the day was the bottom of the fourth, as Mason Wilson doubled against Vermont starter Ethan Freed drive in Jordan Welch, who had singled with one out. Wilson scored on Brendan Horne’s RBI single to make it 2-0.

But in both the fourth and fifth, Nashua left the bases loaded, which opened the door for the Monsters. In the fourth, Monster Stroh made a great catch in center, robbing Knight Ben Peterson of at least an RBI double.

The opener was non-descript. Vermont got a run in the third off Nashua starter Matt Donovan and then tagged reliever Ty Lohsen for three runs on five hits in the fourth.

Just not Nashua’s day, but against Vermont, it rarely is.

“Just a bad baseball day,” Guarino said. “But they’ll be fine. Beat the teams we have to beat – beat Westfield, beat Norwich, beat the Worcesters, beat the New Britains, beat the Lowells. Those are the teams you’ve got to beat, those three or four teams in the pile with us.

“Would have liked to have won tonight, but what are you going to do.”